Boasson Hagen makes it four in a row

Norway's Edvald Boasson Hagen claimed a fourth successive stage win to stretch his lead in the Tour of Britain standings to 19 seconds with two stages left to race.

The 22-year-old won a sprint finish at the end of the 183.7km sixth stage in England's west country and he will now expect to hold off second-placed Kai Reus over the course of Friday's penultimate stage and the 92.5-km race to the finish in London on Saturday.

Germany's Martin Reimer finished second in Thursday's stage, just ahead of Britain's Russell Downing.Australian Chris Sutton finished the stage in seventh and is still handily placed in fourth overall and only trails Boasson Hagen in the points competition.

But compatriot Simon Clarke dropped from fifth to eighth place overall after a 62nd-placed finish in Thursday's stage.

"It was a disappointing day but overall the week for me has been decent so I can't complain too much," he said."To have two riders in the top ten in the GC is fantastic and Chris has done really well all week."